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Sub Space 9206_C03
Deanna Troi wondered where she was. The last thing she remembered was
talking to Beverly in Sickbay. The next thing she knew, she was here, wherever
here was. She couldn't exactly see or feel anything, but she could sense other
beings around her. She called out to them, but no one answered. Deciding th
at doing nothing was one of the worst things that she could do
under the circumstances, she hesitantly touched one and found the mind of a
Vulcan she knew. Dr. Selar, one of Crusher's staff. So these are the minds
of everybody on the Enterprise, she reasoned.
At least I'm still on the ship, she thought, but what condition am I in?
I was in Beverly's office in Sickbay, so I'll try there first, she decided.
She mentally went back to the office, a trip of about ten meters. There was no
one there. She next tried the diagnostic beds nearest the office and found
Crusher's mind.
Deanna touched it and called out, "Beverly."
* * * * * * * * * *
Dr. Crusher whirled in a full circle looking around Sickbay to try to
identify the voice that she had just heard. The only other person in Sickbay
was Dr. Selar, running diagnostics on the Sickbay computer system. The voice
sounded like Deanna's, but that was impossible. Deanna was right in front of
her, unconscious. Not only that, but the voice seemed to come from everywhere
and nowhere at once. Given how she had heard her name, and that Dr. Selar
had not moved, Crusher decided that she had just been telepathically
contacted. "Who's there?" she called mentally, as well as she was able.
"It's me, Deanna Troi. You know me, Beverly," came the calm reply.
Crusher turned back to Deanna's body. It hadn't moved. In fact, the
monitors on the diagnostic bed were the only things that kept her from thinking
that Troi's body was dead. "Where are you?" she asked hesitantly.
"I'm not sure. I can move through the Enterprise without trying, and I
see everybody's mind as if it were a little star," answered Deanna's voice from
somewhere within Beverly's mind.
"How do you feel?" queried Crusher.
"Fine. I have an incredible amount of freedom right now, Beverly. It's
like being released from my body. It's very interesting, and a little bit
scary too," she added.
"Okay. I think I've finally figured out what happened to you. Your body
is right here in front of me, but your mind appears to be free from it. Your
body is showing symptoms of a Ryboxian virus. They're very unpredictable
illnesses. Not only that, but you could have gotten it anywhere and at
anytime. The bioscreens on the air circulators can't detect them. Anyway,
sometimes they act just like a normal flu and sometimes they attack each
person's individual traits. It seems that this time it has attacked your
psionic abilities and enhanced them in some way. Anyway, I have no way of
curing you immediately. I'll just have to treat the symptoms and let your body
fight the virus itself." She paused to let Deanna say something if she wanted
to. There was no comment so she continued.
"Meanwhile, since you seem to be mentally free and coherent, I suggest
that you take advantage of it. When was the last time that you actually down
sat and meditated for more than ten minutes? I think that you could use this
time to get some mental rest. I've no idea how long you'll be in this
condition, so make the best of it, okay?"
"I'll try, Beverly, but I'm getting lonely already," came back Deanna's
soft response.
Beverly smiled. "Just think of me as the neighbor that you can stop by
and visit anytime you feel like it," urged Beverly mentally.
Crusher could almost feel Troi's answering smile. "Thank you Beverly.
Another thing, please don't tell anybody this, okay?"
"Fine, Deanna. Now get some rest while I take care of you."
"Yes, Doctor," came the amused reply. "I'll leave you alone so you can
work on me."
* * * * * * * * * *
Deanna pulled herself away from Dr. Crusher and looked around her changed
world. The people on the Enterprise were clustered around her. She could look
into any mind she chose, but she didn't want to do that. Being an empath, she
knew her powers and didn't want to invade the mental privacy of anybody.
Besides, that kind of move would justify the fears of many people around her.
Most people just don't understand me, she thought sadly. A few people do
though. Captain Picard, Beverly, . . . Will. They understand what I go
through.
Will. Now why didn't I think of him sooner? I'd better find him and make
sure he's all right.
"Deanna," it was so quiet that she could barely hear it, but she knew
immediately what it meant. She turned toward the sound and sped to Riker.
===========================================================================
Chapter 8
Deanna wondered what she would find when she got to Will Riker. Would he
be fine, or would she find him dying, or would she find him at all, or . . .
Stop it, Deanna, she scolded herself. Thinking that way won't get you
anywhere. Now stop thinking morbid thoughts and get going to find him! She
almost smiled in spite of what was going on around her.
Since she was free of a physical body, she could travel even faster than
the incredible speeds of the Enterprise. She was, quite literally, traveling
at the speed of thought. She quickly overtook the Ferengi ship and searched it
for the image of minds. Betazoids never could read Ferengi, so to her the
Avarice seemed to be a ship with only one person in it, Riker. She sped to him
and touched his mind.
"Will."
"What? Who is it?" came the frightened reply.
"It's okay, Will. It's me, Deanna."
"Deanna?" his relieved tone gave way to confusion. "You're on the
Enterprise, aren't you?"
"No, Will. My body has a Ryboxian virus and my mind is free. I heard my
name and I came. What happened?"
"I was in the brig trying to escape," he began, talking quickly. "Blak
showed up and we knocked him out and tried to get out. Mok was right there and
he knocked Mark out. He then told me to get up, but the pain in my shoulder
knocke d me out again."
Deanna was very confused. "Us? Mark? Blak? Your shoulder? I'm sorry,
Will, but I don't understand. Could you please start from the beginning?"
"What? Oh, sorry," He's still talking quickly, almost incoherently, she
noticed. "When I woke up my shoulder hurt and I met Mark. He was being held
by the Ferengi for smuggling the crystals that I was looking for. I saw a
panel and wanted to open it, but first Blak, Mok's second in command, came
and threatened to sell me to the Romulans. I then found the panel and kicked
it in. No, Mark gave me a sling out of his belt firs t. Anyway, the panel
had power circuits in it. I was trying to open the door when Blak cam e to
the door. Mark kicked him in the face and then stole his whip. I walked out
the do or, and rolled into the wall to avoid Mok's energy whip. Mark got
hit. What happened t o him?" he paused, waiting for her to answer.
He's asleep and babbling, concluded Counselor Troi. He's been speaking
rapidly and his thoughts are disjointed. Deanna, on the other hand, not the
professional psychiatrist but the very good friend, thought that his actions
were kind of cute. She didn't want to do this to him, but he did ask her a
direct question.
"I'm sorry, Will, but I didn't see any other humans on board." She tried
t o be sympathetic because she knew that his mind was working on a child-like
level sin ce he was asleep and his subconscious was in control.
He was silent for a moment and then asked quietly, "You mean that Mok
killed him?"
"I'm afraid so, Will. I know that he was a friend of yours. Could you
please tell me what happened next?" This was rather cruel to his emotions, she
thought. Well, if he thinks about something else then he may not let Mark's
death affect him too much.
"I was rolled up by the wall," continued Riker incoherently. "Mok told me
to get down, but I couldn't move very fast, so I got down slowly. He was
frothing at the mouth so I tried to move faster. I guess I passed out again,
and then you showed up," he concluded.
Definitely asleep, said the clinical portion of her mind. Oh, shut up,
replied the other, more sensitive portion of her personality. "Are you okay,
Will? Everybody on the Enterprise is worried about you."
"I'm fine. Just my shoulder is broken. You know, I've been thinking."
He has calmed down somewhat. He's actually coherent now, remarked Deanna to
herself, but he's probably still asleep. "Since I've gotten over to this ship
I 've been threatened, gassed, and shot at. Things like that tend to make
you rethink your entire previous life. I know that I've made some mistakes
over the years. Most of the m I can't do anything about, but there is one
that I can change. I did love you before and I still do love you."
Don't do it, Will, thought Deanna to herself.
"If I have anything to say about it," continued Riker, "I want you to
marry me so that I can make up for some of the mistakes that I have made in the
past." He stopped and waited for her answer.
How do I answer that? asked Deanna of herself. I do love him and I want
to marry him, but he doesn't know what he's saying. Besides he's asleep, and
not responsible for what he's saying. He could never marry and settle down.
He's just not that type of person. He's also delirious from pain, and that's
why he's saying these things. But what if he's serious? Do I take him up on
the offer?
"We could have a big wedding," continued Riker as she wrestled with her
emotions. "Captain Picard could perform the service, Dr. Crusher could be the
b ridesmaid . . . who would be the best man? Data, Worf, Wes? Data would
probably try to analyze the situation, so he's out. Worf, well I don't know if
he'd want do it, but if I asked him in the right way, he might. Wesley sounds
like a good choice . This ought to be an exciting experience for him. We'll
have to figure out a way to c onvince your mother that it shouldn't be a
completely traditional Betazoid wedding. Sorry, but I can't see myself getting
married stark naked. We could invite all of the crew and their families.
Where would you want to go for our honeymoon? Earth? Betazed?"
"That all sounds lovely, Will, but I think we'd better discuss this later.
Right now you are in a lot of trouble. What will the Ferengi do with you?"
She reminded herself t hat he was consciously asleep and not responsible for
what he just said.
"Blak threatened to sell me to the Romulans," Riker answered, temporarily
setting aside the wedding plans.
"You're heading into Romulan space. We should be able to catch up to you
a bout a half hour before you make it. We should catch you in about three
hours. Remember, sometime during that half an hour we will do something to try
to help you. Just be ready for anything, okay?"
"Okay, Deanna," he replied obediently.
"Good. Now get some sleep. I've got to go now. I'll see you in a couple
of hours, Will. Bye."
"Bye, Imzadi," said Riker softly.
Deanna pulled away from him and made her way slowly back to the
Enterprise, thinking furiously all the way. With any luck, she thought, he
won't remember any of this entire conversation when he wakes up. Or do I want
him to remember and be serious? She didn't know the answers to her own
questions.
* * * * * * * * * *
Captain's Log: Supplemental.
The Ferengi have changed course; they are now heading toward the Romulan
Neutral Zone. We should be able to catch them before they make it, but just
barely.
Meanwhile, Counselor Troi is in Sickbay with what Dr. Crusher says is a
Ryboxian virus. Apparently Deanna could have gotten it anytime in the past
couple of years and it hasn't shown up until now. They are very unpredictable
and long lived viruses.
Since both Troi and Riker are gone, I won't be able to use them as
sounding boards. I've got to figure out how to stop the Ferengi on my own. Do
I dare fire on them for what they may do to Riker? Do I just talk to them?
Where is Number One when I need him?
===========================================================================
Chapter 9
Once again, Data told the holodeck computer, "Resume program Data One."
The computer responded by putting the illusions of Grace sitting by Data and
Gloria dancing with Geordi out on the dance floor. Thanks to the good offices
of the computer, Grace was once again in a good mood.
"bangwIj rur Doq," said Data, just like the last time.
"I'm sorry, Fredrick, what was that?" asked Grace.
"That was Klingon poetry. I thought that you would like to listen to
some," replied Data. He wasn't about to tell her what Klingons did while
listening to poetry. He had just found out that doing that would upset her a
great deal.
Grace smiled. Data found that that simple gesture was oddly pleasing.
"Sorry to disappoint you Fredrick, but I don't speak Klingonese. How about we
just talk instead of reciting poetry?"
"Okay," he paused. "What would you like to talk about?"
She laughed. "I don't care. Anytime I'm with you, I just love to talk.
It doesn't matter what we talk about, just as long as we're together."
He considered that for a moment. What should he talk about? Didn't
Guinan say that he could let her lead the conversation if he had to? Well, he
r easoned, the best way to do that is to ask her something. "What plans have
you made for our wedding?" he asked.
She smiled. "Thank you for reminding me. I've got something to show
you." She pulled open her handbag and started rummaging around in it.
While she was otherwise occupied, Data looked around the room for Geordi.
H e was still on the dance floor, apparently deep in conversation with
Gloria. Even as h e watched, she laughed, and Geordi smiled at her. He
still seems to be having fun, thought Data to himself.
"Who are you watching?" asked Grace from beside him.
"Thomas and Gloria. They make a very nice couple, do they not?"
"Yes they do. Thank you for bringing Thomas to meet her. I feel guilty
going on so many dates with you and my roommate gets stuck at our apartment
with nothing to do. This is good for her.
"Here is what I wanted to show you," she continued. She held up a piece
of cloth for Data's inspection.
Data took it, looked at it, and asked, "What is it?" As far has he could
tell, it was simply a piece of white cotton cloth, suitable for almost
anything. He did notice, however, that it was real cotton, not synthetic.
"Part of my wedding dress, silly. What else would it be? I'm going to
have a full dress made of this material. It'll have puffed sleeves with little
red flowers on them and I'll wear a golden necklace with our names enclosed
within a heart on it."
"That sounds like an appropriate dress for the occasion," Data commented.
He stopped. What else to talk about? "Who are you going to invite?"
"Well, let's see," she paused in thought. "Gloria and my parents of
course. Who else? Oh, yes, Kimberly, Anna, Kathleen, and probably a couple of
others. Who will you invite?"
Data hadn't thought about it. Who would I invite to my wedding? he
wondered. "Well, Captain Picard, Commander Riker, Thomas," he indicated
Geordi, "Lieutenant Worf, Dr and Wesley Crusher, Chief O'Brien, Counselor
Troi,"
She interrupted him with, "Sounds like you have more guests coming than I
do. I'll just have to invite more people to keep up with you." She laughed
and smiled at him, her eyes full of love.
Data was about to respond when he felt a heavy tap on his shoulder. He
had heard someone come up behind him, but he had assumed that they would go on
by or sit at the bar beside him, not interrupt him. He turned to look at a
large, uns haven man wearing a creased suit. His nose appeared to be cherry
red. Data's sensitive olfactory sensors immediately detected a large increase
i n the concentration of alcohol fumes in the air. Data correlated these
facts in his m ind and came to the conclusion that the man was intoxicated.
"May I help you?" asked Data politely.
"Yesh," the man slurred. "That girl of yoursh ish bery pretty. If you
don't wants any troubles, you could letsh me dance with her." The man stared
at Data blearily and clenched his right fist.
Grace had grabbed Data's arm from behind, and was whispering, "Please make
him go away, Fredrick."
Data was surprised at the man's audacity. He was clearly incapable of
walking in a straight line, let alone dancing. Data turned toward Grace in an
effort to ignore the man in the hopes that he would go away.
Before he got all of the way around, however, his shoulder was jerked
backward and he found himself once again face to face with the drunk. What
should I do? he wondered. This man was clearly not going to leave us alone, so
I must do something about him.
He considered his options. Grace obviously didn't want to dance with him.
She was still grabbing his arm with all of her strength. He could try to just
walk away with her, but the man probably wouldn't let them go. He could
pause the holodeck program, but he was too curious about what the man may do
to do something like that. The history of literature was replete with
characters who would not hesitate to fight for the honor of a l ady. He
thought that his present situation called for this, so he stood up to face the
man.
"No," was the simple declaration.
The large man laughed loudly and then abruptly let loose with a punch
toward Data's face.
He had no chance against Data's android reflexes and strength. Data
caught the man's hand in his own and just stood there waiting to see what the
man would try next.
When he realized that his punch had not landed, the drunk grunted and
really leaned against Data's hand. It wouldn't move. Out of a mixture of
frustration and desperation the man then tried to hit Data with his other hand.
Data simply stepped aside and pushed the man forward, adding to his own
momentum. Data was careful, however, to steer him away from Grace. It would
not do at all for him to let get her hurt by this ruffian.
The man stumbled forward and went face first into a table full of people.
Drinks, chairs, and people went flying everywhere. One of the men that was
on the bottom started fighting against what was lying on top of him, namely
the drunk. The two men en ded up on top of each other pummeling one
another's faces with poorly aimed blows.
They were the least of Data's worries. Some of the other men from the
overturned table were advancing on him. They did not looked pleased. One of
the men accidentally bumped another and they started trading blows. The scene
w as quickly turning into an old fashioned barroom brawl. Data was
fascinated.
Geordi's first indication of a problem was when the couple next to Gloria
a nd himself fell over, with somebody large and clearly intoxicated lying on
top of them. LaForge looked up from his entertaining conversation with
Gloria to find a full blown fight goi ng on. What has Data gotten himself
into now? he wondered.
"Please excuse me a moment," he said politely to Gloria. "Computer, pause
program."
The noises in the room abruptly stopped. Geordi disengaged himself from
the now motionless Gloria and walked over toward where he had left Data, which
incidentally was the center of the fight, he noticed with some worry.
"Data, what happened this time?" he asked when he found his android friend
surrounded by motionless people.
"That man," he indicated the man that Geordi had seen, "came over to us
and demanded to dance with Grace. She did not want to dance with him, so I
told him no. He did not seem to accept that answer. He tried to hit me, but I
stopped him from hurting me or Grace."
"What?" asked Geordi in obvious confusion. "The simulation shouldn't be
able to do something that may allow anybody to get hurt."
"I programed it to be absolutely precise with every detail, unfortunately
it also included the intoxication levels of the patrons."
"Right," answered Geordi with a shake of his head. "Why don't we get back
up to the bridge and try this some other time. You seem to be getting into
all sorts of t rouble on this date, Data. "
"I am sorry, Geordi, but I did want to learn more about humans. I have
been gathering a great deal of fascinating information." He turned his head
toward a blank wall. "Computer, save and discontinue."
The two men walked out of the now empty holodeck and headed toward the
bridge.
===========================================================================
Chapter 10
Riker became conscious again with a start. Now, what woke me up? he
thought. He tried to remember what had happened to him over the last couple of
minutes before he fell asleep. Let's see, he thought, I got out into the hall
and rolle d into the wall in an effort to avoid Mok's whip. Mark got hit and
killed.
Now why do I believe that? he wondered. I've no way of knowing unless one
of the Ferengi tell me. Anyway, Mok told me to get down and I tried to do it
slowly, but he seemed upset so I went faster and passed out. If that's the
last thing that I remember, then why do I think that the Enterprise will try
to rescue me in the next couple of h ours? And then they will have only
half an hour to do it. Did I dream it? And why do I t hink that I asked
Deanna an important question? If I did, what was it? The more that Riker
thought, the more questions were piling up in his mind, so he tried not to
think along those lines any more.
He opened his eyes in order to figure out where the Ferengi had put him
this time. The more that he looked around, the more he became convinced that
he was in the same cell that he had just broken out of.
Good news, he thought. He looked over to where the panel should be, to
find that someone had put a very crude patch over it. The patch was made of
durranium, welded to the wall. Crude, but effective. Not much chance I could
k ick my way through that stuff, he thought ruefully.
Escape plans over for the moment, he took stock of his body. His shoulder
was still aching. Great, thought Riker. Dr. Crusher had finally finished
patching me up after my run in with the Wild Thing on Paradise, and I had to
come over to this ship and mess it up again. Beverly will never let me live
this down, he thought, thoroughly chagrin ed. Other than his shoulder, he
felt fine.
He looked over to the other bunk in the cell, half hoping to find Mark
lying there. He wasn't. Maybe my dream really wasn't a dream after all, he
thought.
Since he couldn't think of anything else to do short of throwing himself
at the force field, he decided to wait for the Enterprise to try to rescue him.
He fervently hoped that they would make an attempt at it. He didn't fancy
being sold to the Romulan Empire so that they could pry military secrets from
him.
Riker sat, waited, and conserved his strength for when he would need it
the most. He was sure that he would need all of his energy in a couple of
hours, one way or another.
* * * * * * * * * *
Deanna made her way back to the Enterprise, thinking about her
conversation with Will. Once she got there, however, she knew that she needed
to report what Riker had told her to Captain Picard. She made her way to the
bridge and tried to find the mind of her captain.
* * * * * * * * * *
Picard tabbed the button on his armchair to close the log entry and sat
back with a sigh. How will I handle the Ferengi? he wondered. If only I knew
what they were doing.
"Captain," he heard.
That's odd, he thought. Did I just hear Counselor Troi call me?
"Yes you did, sir," came back a reply that he wasn't sure whether he heard
or only thought.
"Well, well," he thought aloud to Deanna. "And where are you, Counselor?"
"I'm mentally here with you, Captain, but my body is probably still in
Sickbay."
"And how are you managing that?" he thought mentally, very interested in
the answer.
"The Ryboxian virus attacked and enhanced my psionic abilities. It's
really very interesting, Captain. I'm more free now that I've ever been. This
is interesting, but I prefer to have a body around me."
"I see. Did you just stop by to chat? Or do you think that you could
help me with a problem?"
"I think that I can help you with some information, sir. I just talked to
Will. He was unconscious at the time, so I'm not sure how reasonable his
answers are. He said that he had hurt his shoulder when the Ferengi gassed
him. He woke up and found that there was a smuggler in the brig with him,
apparently the same smuggler that had brought the Atax crystals to the Ferengi.
They made an escape attempt, but Daamon Mok stopped them, killing the smuggler
in the process. They also apparently have threatened to sell Will to the
Romulans. I warned him that we will try to help him in the next couple of
hours, and he should be ready for anything. His conscious mind was asleep,
so I'm not sure whether he remembers that or not."
"Thank you, Counselor. You've answered a great many questions," remarked
Picard, vastly relieved.
"Sir, could you please not tell Will that I talked to him? I don't think
t hat I want him to remember all of what was said."
Picard raised an eyebrow at the request, but agreed. She had just brought
him the very kind of information that he needed to plan out the next couple of
hours.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Thank you, sir," said Deanna before she left Picard.
She made her way back to Sickbay to find out what had happened to her
physical body. She found Beverly in the same place that Troi had left her,
about an hour ago.
"Beverly," called Deanna.
"Yes, Deanna, I'm here. I've got some good news for you. I'm helping
your body fight the virus, and I think that it's working. You should be up and
around in
another day or so."
"We don't have a day, Beverly. We have maybe three hours before we lose
Will."
"I'm sorry, Deanna, but I can't speed up the process. It'll take that
long just for your body to get itself well again." She paused and waited for
the argument to continue.
Deanna sighed. "Very well, Beverly. I'll just run around for a while.
I'll probably be around Captain Picard later if you want to talk to me."
"Okay, Deanna." She paused. "Are you sure that you're fine?"
"Yes, Mother, I feel fine," joked Deanna.
Beverly smiled. At least she can joke about this, thought Crusher to
herself.
* * * * * * * * * *
Deanna pulled away from Dr. Crusher and took a longer look around the
Enterprise. I can go anywhere I wanted to, she realized. Well, she asked
herself, now that I can go anywhere in the entire galaxy, where to? She drew a
complete blank. She realized that everywhere she ever wanted to go was right
here on the ship, easy access anytime. That blew that time killer, she
thought ruefully. I could go off ship, she thought, but to where? And even
then, how would I know when to get back?
Who do I want to talk to? Nobody came to mind immediately except Riker
and he was out for various reasons. She sighed in resignation. She was
absolutely free and had nothing to do. It was at that point that she realized
h ow truly lonely she felt.
Who would I talk to if I had felt this way yesterday? she thought. The
answer was immediate, Guinan. The Ten-Forward hostess was always willing to
listen and knew how to fix almost any problem. She sped off to the
===========================================================================
Ten-Forward.
On the way, she happened to pass Geordi LaForge in the Holodeck. Without
trying, she read the emotion that he was strongly broadcasting, love. Deanna
was tempted to stop and find out what was going on, but her professional ethics
prevented her from doing so. She went on to the Ten-Fore.
As soon as she got there, she started searching for Guinan. Almost
immediately she got a strong sense of seeing somebody. What was almost as
scary was that Deanna thought that whoever it was, was looking at her, too. The
closer she got to this person, the more she became convinced that it was Q
returning for one of his all too frequent visits.
She heard soft laughter. "No, Deanna, don't be scared. It's just little
old me, Guinan. And I'm NOT a member of the Q," she added forcefully.
Deanna sighed in relief. "I was worried there for a moment, Guinan. The
last time I sensed a mind like yours, it was the first time that we ran into
Q, just before Farpoint. Since then I've tried to avoid his mind whenever
possible." She chuckled and the n something occurred to her. "Why haven't I
ever gotten that kind of impression f rom you before?"
Deanna could feel Guinan's smile. "Deanna, just between you and me, I've
got powers that the Captain doesn't even suspect.
"I've been following you for a while, now," she said, changing the subject
abruptly. "I haven't heard everything, so you can relax. Anyway, you are
wondering what to do for the next couple of hours. I would suggest that you
just sit and relax somewhere in here. You can't do anything for a while, so
just wait. If you want, I can keep you co mpany. I'm very good at lending
someone an ear for a couple of hours. And this way," she continued, "I can
keep working while you calm down somewhat."
Deanna smiled and began to tell Guinan about her talk with Will.
===========================================================================
Chapter 11
"We're within phaser range of the Ferengi," announced Worf from over
Picard's head some two hours later.
"Thank you, Mr. Worf. Open hailing frequency." As he said this, he stood
up and advanced on the forward viewscreen.
"Channel open," said Worf as the view of Daamon Mok appeared on the
viewscreen in front of Picard.
"What do you want, human?" questioned Mok.
"We want Commander Riker," responded Picard with perfect calm, "and we're
p repared to use force if necessary to get him back."
The Ferengi did not appear impressed. "Oh really now? I don't suppose
that you would want to buy him back rather than firing on us and possibly
killing him in the process?"
"We won't discuss terms. Give us Commander Riker and we will let you go,
unharmed."
The Ferengi captain smiled evilly, turned to one of his crew and started
snarling at him in what passed for the Ferengi tongue. Once finished, he
turned back to Picard and just stared at him. He seemed to be waiting for
something.
"Captain," called Worf from his tactical station, "I'm picking up strange
e nergy readings from the Ferengi ship. I can't isolate location or cause."
Chief Engineer LaForge was watching the same sensor readings. "The power curve
reminds me of something that I saw in Engineering school, Captain. It appears
to be an old fashioned trans-warp field that is being directed through their
phaser banks." He frowned at his console. "No, it's similar, but not the same
thing. I don't know precisely what it is. Sorry, sir."
Picard frowned. He could fire now, at extreme range, or wait. And then
there was the matter of their mystery weapon. A directed trans-warp field used
as a weapon? Well, it was rumored to have happened to Admiral James T Kirk,
but Picard had trouble imagining it. After due consideration, he decided to
wait a little whil e longer and then aim for their phaser mounts in the hope
that he could render their mystery weapon useless.
"Cut transmission," he said eventually. "Close on them further, Mr. Worf,
and inform me when we are within optimum phaser range. Lock phasers and
photon torpedoes on their phaser mounts."
"Aye, sir," responded Worf a gleam in his eye.
The next fifteen minutes were spent uneventfully, though they were very
hard on Picard. Finally, when he thought that he could stand no more, he
turned to Worf to order him to open fire.
"Within optimum phaser range, Captain," said Worf just before Picard could
say anything.
"Open fire with phaser mountings and engines as targets, Mr. Worf,"
replied Picard. His fatigue seemed to dissolve just as soon as he had
something to do.
"Firing," called Worf. He seems to be positively enjoying firing at the
Ferengi, noticed Picard.
Everyone on the Enterprise bridge watched the phaser beams lancing toward
the Ferengi trader only to be stopped and dissipated by the aft shields.
"Continue firing until further notice," ordered Picard.
Worf had a very Klingon grin on his face as he turned back to his board to
carry out the order. His hands danced over the phaser controls and the
phasers continued to mercilessly eat away at the Ferengi shields.
"They're firing back," called Ensign Crusher from Conn even as he
implemented minor evasive maneuvers. The Enterprise rocked around them,
indicating a Ferengi hit.
"Forward shields drained twenty percent," called Worf. "That was standard
phasers, not their trans-warp weapon. Firing continuing." He sent another
barrage against the Ferengi shields.
At these speeds, neither ship could maneuver very much at all; Enterprise
because they didn't want to get further away from the Ferengi and the Avarice
because they wanted to get away from the Enterprise as fast as possible.
"They're slowing," reported Data at Ops. "Warp seven, six, five." He
paused. "Holding at warp four point seven. It appears that we have damaged
their engines, Captain."
"Good," replied Picard. "Mr. Crusher, get us between them and the Romulan
Neutral Zone. Continue firing, Mr. Worf."
"Aye, sir," both officers replied. Picard hoped to force the Ferengi back
toward Federation space and give him some breathing room.
"Sound strategy," commented Counselor Troi from nowhere.
"It's nice to see you're back, Counselor," thought Picard. "How have you
been?"
"I've been talking to Guinan and I feel better now, Captain. Thank you.
If you don't mind, I feel that I should go to Will now. You don't seem to need
me here."
"Good idea." He paused. "What would happen to you if one of the phaser
shots went through you?" He didn't think he wanted to know the answer, but he
was worried for her.
"I'll try to avoid them," she replied and was gone.
Picard sighed. He noticed that Ensign Crusher had managed to get the
Enterprise between the Ferengi and the Neutral Zone already. Picard made a
quick decision in his head and came to the conclusion that he could maneuver
freely now to avoid phaser shots. "Continue firing and implement evasion
tactic gamma, Mr. Crusher."
* * * * * * * * * *
Riker was startled to feel the ship lurch around him. What's going on? he
wondered. Of course! The Enterprise is trying to stop the Ferengi. I need
to be ready to ge t out if the opportunity presents itself. He stood by the
door to wait, hoping that the power would fail.
He didn't have to wait long. After another hit by the Enterprise, thepower
to the door flickered and went out for a moment. So did the lights,
plunging him into complete darkness. He lunged toward where the door should be
and prayed that he'd make it before the power came back on.
He didn't. Just as he got most of the way through, the power flickered
back on and caught his leg in its force.
Riker's next conscious memory was of lying on the floor in the hallway.
His left leg felt as if somebody with a cruel streak had run Klingon pain
sticks up and down its length. He doubted that he could stand for a couple of
minutes, so he looked around to pass the time. As he expected, he was on
the other side of the force field, piled up against the wall. The power
must have come on and got my leg bu t spit me out in this direction, he
reasoned. He couldn't see anybody in either direction down the corridor, so
he felt rather safe for the moment.
I wonder if the Enterprise is still out there trying to help me? he
thought. A sudden lurch to the floor answered that question rather forcefully.
He no longer felt safe just sitting there, so he gingerly stood up and tried
to move down the corridor without hurting his leg or shoulder.
Halfway down the corridor he suddenly sensed another presence and froze,
trying to pinpoint the location.
"It's okay, Will. It's only me, Deanna," he heard inside of his head.
He relaxed. "Where are you?" He didn't have to make sure that it was
her. His hyperactive senses had already identified it as her voice.
"Right here. I'm here in the corridor with you."
Riker looked around, but couldn't see anyone except himself. "What are
you talking about? You're not here. Come to think of it, how can I hear you
if you're not here?"
"I'm really here, Will, just not physically. Don't ask how I got here,
just accept it." She was relieved that he didn't seem to remember their
previous conversation.
"Whatever," answered Will. "I'm glad you're here, Deanna, even if not
really here. By the way, what's going on?"
"You're near the Romulan Neutral Zone. The Enterprise is firing on the
Ferengi in an effort to stop them from crossing into the Zone. You're free so
I suggest that you try to cut power from the inside. We can't beam you out
until their shields are down, right?"
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
He continued down the corridor and peeked around the corner before
crossing. He was immediately glad that he did. A Ferengi was standing guard
about five meters down the cross hall. He appeared to be very frightened, but
determined to guard the door at his back.
"Damn," muttered Riker. He stopped and leaned against the wall. This one
would require some thinking.
===========================================================================
Chapter 12
"Could you please help me, Deanna?" asked Will.
"I'm sorry, Will, but no," she responded, correctly anticipating the next
q uestion. "I can't do anything to Ferengi. Even a full Betazoid couldn't
touch the mind of a Ferengi, even if she wanted to. Sorry."
"Damn. I was hoping for a distraction. Do you any suggestions?"
"No. Not unless you want to wait for one."
"That's not my first choice, but I don't seem to have any other options
right now. I can't just jump out there and get him, at least not with this leg
I can't." He paused uncertainly, "While we're waiting, I feel like I recently
asked you an im portant question, but I can't remember what it was I asked or
what your answer was. Do you have any idea what the question was?" His
voice was a mixture of curiosity and dread.
Deanna thought about it very carefully. She didn't want to tell him what
w as actually said, but she did want to answer truthfully. He apparently did
remember some of it, though, she thought. Well, I'll just have to answer
without telling the whole truth.
She was suddenly spared an answer by the end of their wait for a
distraction. The ship abruptly lurched around them as yet another phaser shot
hit the Avarice and rattled everybody aboard.
Riker peeked around the corner just in time to see a panel on the wall
fall down and startle the Ferengi. The guard jumped at the sound and
reflexively pulled out his energy whip. Once he identified the source of the
sound, he nervously made what passed for a Ferengi chuckle at his jumpiness and
turned to the comm panel to call a technician to fix the panel.
After speaking for a few seconds, he turned back around just in time to
catch a fleeting glimpse of a maroon uniform before his knees were kicked out
from under him and he landed face first into the floor with his energy whip
flying down the hall.
Riker spotted the flying whip and seized the opportunity it offered. He
ran over to where the it had fallen and grabbed it just as the guard got to his
feet and started coming at him. For the moment not caring what power level
the whip was set to, he simply flicked it at the Ferengi and prayed that it
would be enough to stop the obviously very upset Ferengi bearing down on
him.
It did. The bolt slammed into the Ferengi's shoulder and spun him into a
full circle before he stopped. The guard fell over like a felled oak tree
Will had once see n in his native Alaska.
Once the excitement was over, Will looked down at the whip and was
relieved to note that it was set on heavy stun, not kill. He didn't want any
more blood on his hands than was necessary.
Will turned toward the door that the Ferengi had been guarding and tried
to make sense of the markings that were stenciled there. He couldn't decipher
w hat it said, so he decided to walk in and look.
Riker stepped into a open room that was approximately one hundred by
eighty by ten meters high. It was only partially filled with small crates off
i n one corner.
"Cargo Hold" supplied his mind. He frowned in annoyance. Of course it
is, dummy, he chided himself.
Deanna's light laughter in his mind told him that she was still with him.
T his knowledge filled him with a sense of calm for no reason that he could
identify. Whatever goes on, he thought, at least I'm not alone.
Well, he continued, as long as I'm free I might as well try to mess them
up. He already knew what was in the crates. It was the Atax crystals that he
was supposed to search for. The ones that cost Mark his life.
Quickly, he went over to the crates and started to open them and pull the
c rystals out. Atax crystals were very fragile things his mind had told him.
So fragile in fact , that rolling around on the floor was probably enough to
shatter them into several pieces. He couldn't break them with his bare hands
for fear that some of the shards of the drug woul d enter his system, but he
could remove them from their protective cases and let the Enterpr ise's
phaser shots do the work for him.
Upon pulling open the first crate that fell under his hand, he noticed
that they were packed three to a crate and were very padded so as to avoid
breaking.
Too bad, he thought as he pulled them out of the packing material and
dropped them to the floor. His rough handling only broke two of the crystals.
I t was an accident, he consoled himself with an evil grin on his face.
Once he was through the twenty or so crates, he crept back to the door and
peeked outside to check to see if the coast was clear. It wasn't. He was i
nfuriated with himself to see another Ferengi carrying
a tricorder and wearing a belt full of electrical tools checking the guard he
had knocked out on ly a few moments ago. That's the tech that the guard
called, he thought viciously. I sh ould have pulled him into the room and
closed the door behind us. Well, too late now. He hefted the whip and
jumped into the corridor, startling the Ferengi technician. One quick flick
of the wrist and the second Ferengi fell to the corridor floor.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" asked Deanna.
Riker half grinned, "Does it show that much?"
"You don't have to do all of this on my account." She was referring to
the time that she, Riker, and her mother, Lwaxana, were kidnapped by a mad
Ferengi captain who was in love with Lwaxana. The enamored Ferengi never did
anything to Deanna, but Riker still held a grudge against all Ferengi as if he
did.
"I know," he thought back, "but I do need to get out of here."
Riker paused a moment and tried to get his bearings. He had once seen the
schematics of the Ferengi Trader class starships and he tried to pull that
knowl edge out of his memory in order to get an idea of where he was. After
some careful consideration, he turned to the right and started toward the
access ladder.
"Where are you going?" asked Troi's voice.
"To Engineering. I need to disrupt their power to give Chief O'Brien a
chance to beam me out."
"Good point. Do you want me to stay with you, or go back to the
Enterprise and tell them to be ready?"
Riker thought a moment. He wanted her to stay, but the Enterprise needed
to be warned. "Why don't you go back and warn them, and then come back to
keep me company?" His mental tone was of humor, but Deanna heard a real need
in his voice.
Forcing a brightness into her own voice that she didn't feel, she said,"Goo
d idea. I'll be right back." Deanna paused. "Don't go anywhere," she
added jokingly.
"Don't you worry about that. I'll still be onboard when you get back."
He was vastly relieved to hear that she would be back. He really didn't want
to spend too much time over here without someone to help him, and Deanna was
the best choice he could think of.
He practically felt Deanna leave him and he was half tempted to call her
back, but decided that it wouldn't be a good idea. Besides, he needed to have
all of his mind on what he was doing if he was going to pull off what he was
planning.
Energy whip in hand, he crept away from the two unconscious Ferengi and
toward the nearest service tunnel.
Behind him, he could hear the Atax crystals that he had taken out of their
containers rolling around on the floor as the Ferengi ship continued to absorb
a pounding from the Enterprise's phaser banks. Even as he listened, he
heard several of the fragile crystals shatter.
They really must get better security measures around here, he thought with
a grin on his face. Anybody could just walk in and start destroying their
cargo.
* * * * * * * * * *
Deanna pulled away from Will and hesitated as she turned to make her way
back to the Enterprise. Should I stay here with Will, she wondered to herself,
or should I warn the Captain?
Deciding that she really should tell the Captain that Will was free and
making his way to Engineering, she sped off toward where she saw a group human
minds apparently floating in free space. She recognized this as the
Enterprise from t he last time that she had left the ship.
It's odd, she thought, that I can see only minds right now. I wonder if
the Q see us in this way when they travel? I could ask Guinan, I suppose, but
she wouldn't necessarily know for sure, either. Oh, well, she sighed and
continued on to her destination.
===========================================================================
Chapter 13
"Captain."
Picard almost turned toward his left, Troi's usual seat, before he
remembered where she was. "Hello, again, Counselor," he replied, mentally.
"What have you been up to?"
"I've been over with Will, Captain. He has broken out of the brig and is
making his way over to Engineering. He plans to disrupt the power flow so that
Chief O'Brien can beam him out. I think he's planning something else too,
Captain, but I can't be sure. He can be very secretive if he really wants to."
"Thank you, Counselor."
He turned to Worf behind him, "Mr. Worf, please instruct Chief O'Brien to
be ready to beam Commander Riker off of the Ferengi ship at the next
opportunity. We may not have many more chances like that power failure. I
want him to be on his toes for any chance."
"Aye, sir," replied Worf. He sent the message to the transporter room
without slowing down the barrage against the Ferengi ship.
"Counselor," continued Picard mentally, "perhaps you should return to the
Ferengi ship and keep Riker company."
"Thank you, Captain. I believe that I'll do that."
"Keep in touch," said Picard before he felt her leave.
"Mr. Crusher, please keep us between the Ferengi ship and the Romulan
Neutral Zone. I don't want them escaping."
"Yes, sir." The teenage ensign turned back to his station in order to
comply with Picard's order. He kept the great ship in a spiraling course that
forced the Ferengi ship to steer a course almost directly away from the
Neutral Zone.
"Captain," called Worf, "a Romulan Bird of Prey is decloaking on the other
side of the Neutral Zone. They wish communications." His tone indicated what
he thought of Romulans in general.
"Open hailing frequency. Please continue the pursuit and the prosecution
of the Ferengi, but with a little less diligence please, Mr. Worf. We don't
want to destroy them, just get Commander Riker back." Worf appeared to be very
disappointed in the order, but complied without comment.
The screen in front of Picard changed from the view of a battered Ferengi
starship to that of the bridge of a Romulan Bird of Prey. Captain Picard stood
up and advanced on the viewscreen in a habit that he had had ever since
commanding the old Stargazer. He thought that he recognized the commander of
the Romulan ship, but he couldn't be sure.
"This is Jean-Luc Picard, captain of the USS Enterprise, representing the
United Federation of Planets. We bring greetings to the Romulan Empire. How
may I help you?" He knew that all of this rhetoric wasn't helping, but he had
to say it on the off chance that it would keep the Romulans from becoming too
upset with his battle just on the other side of their territory.
"This is Commander Tomolok of the Revenge. So we meet once again,
Captain. What are you doing destroying a Ferengi ship this close to the
Neutral Zone?"
Picard nearly groaned out loud when he heard who he was facing. Picard
had faced Commander Tomolok several times before, usually not on friendly
terms. Tomolok seemed to bear a permanent grudge against the Enterprise and
would be difficult to deal with. In fact, Tomolok had promised on various
occasions to take the Enterprise's hull home as a war trophy. He had nearly
succeeded.
"Hello again, Commander. The Ferengi in question have kidnapped one of my
officers and we are currently trying to get him back. Please believe that this
is of no concern to the Romulan Empire and we will be leaving shortly. Thank
you for your concern, but we have the situation well in hand. Good day,
Commander." Picard motioned to Worf to cut the transmission and returned to
his seat.
This was turning into a bad day.
* * * * * * * * * *
Riker crept down the service ladder as best he could. Between a broken
shoulder and a fried leg, he couldn't creep very well. Regardless, he did his
best as he approached the Engineering spaces.
About half way between decks, he heard voices approach his crouched
position. They slowly came toward his hiding place and he looked down the
accessway just in time to observe two Ferengi guards walk under him apparently
deep in discussion. Riker breathed a silent sigh of relief as they walked
away.
"Will."
Riker nearly cried aloud and fell down when he heard his name called. He
swore that his heart rate was at three hundred before he recognized the
voice as Deanna's.
"Sorry, Will. I didn't realize that you were quite so jumpy. I didn't
mean to startle you. Anyway, the Enterprise knows you're free and are trying
to help, if they can."
"Thank you," he said feeling his heart rate return to something
approaching normal. "Now if I can just get to the engine controls I can cut
their power and leave them a surprise in the bargain."
Deanna was very curious but kept quiet as Riker gingerly lowered himself
down the last couple of meters of hiding space that he had. He paused and
listened for any sounds that would alert him to the presence of any Ferengi in
the area. Hearing none, he poked his head out of the space for a quick look
around.
Nobody home, he was pleased to discover. He climbed down the last two
meters to the floor and started around the corridor to his right, whip at the
ready.
He turned the corner and came face to face with a very ugly guard armed
with an even uglier whip. They both stopped in astonishment and stared at one
another for a moment, as if neither could accept the other's presence.
"Will!"
Deanna's inaudible scream was all that it took to jerk Riker into action.
He immediately brought his own whip up and snapped it at the guard. For his
own part, the Ferengi got his own weapon almost to bear on Riker before the
energy bolt hit him and sent him spinning into unconsciousness.
The excitement over, Riker paused and listened for anybody coming.
Satisfied that he was safe for the moment, he turned to the door that the
Ferengi had been guarding and once again was baffled by the Ferengi written
language. Deciding just to walk in and hope for the best, he did precisely
that.
He was lucky. The Ferengi, in an attempt to save money, had computerized
the Engineering spaces. Sighing in relief, he returned to the hall and drug
the unconscious guard into the room with him.
Once the guard was hidden from casual inspection, Riker surveyed the room.
He immediately noticed that it was smaller than the Enterprise's Engineering
Room. Whereas he was used to two decks and several hundred cubic meters of
space, this room was only one deck tall and with about fifty square meters of
floor space. The warp core itself was nowhere to be seen, but several banks of
old computer terminals lined three of the walls. Apparently this room was used
to do maintenance checks on the engineering computer system, he thought as he
surveyed the cramped quarters.
"The Ferengi certainly don't spend a lot of money or people on their
Engineering spaces, do they?" he asked Deanna.
"Fortunately not. I suggest that you get to work. No telling how long
before that guard is missed."
"Good idea," he replied even as he made his way to the nearest computer
terminal.
It turned out to have absolutely no safety or security restrictions on it.
Sloppy, he thought as he asked the computer to switch output to Federation
Standard. Being the obedient but stupid machine that it was, it simply started
working in Standard without asking him for any type of authorization codes to
do so.
Riker quickly familiarized himself with the system and set to work in a
manner that completely baffled Troi.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Don't worry. This will only take a minute and then I can cut their power
to give O'Brien a chance to get me out of here," he replied with a mischievous
grin on his face.
Deanna mentally sighed and waited patiently while Riker worked on whatever
he was planning.
===========================================================================
Chapter 14
Riker was busily trying to bypass what passed for Ferengi security
measures. It wasn't that the computer wouldn't allow him to do what he wanted,
but it did want to inform the bridge of what was going on. He really didn't
want that to happen, because he was sure that the Ferengi wouldn't be pleasedwit
h what he was doing.
There, thought Riker as he finally got the right combination of orders
into the computer's electronic innards. Now he could do anything he wanted to
down here and the bridge would never know it. It was simply a matter of
telling the computer to send the warning signals to a different location.
Instead of the bridge, they would now go to a null circuit here in this room.
The computer would still try to scream at the top of its electronic voice in
order to warn the bridge, but would really spend its time warning nobody.
Once that was accomplished, Riker accessed the navigational computer
subsystem and plotted a new course, subject to execution upon command from
another program. To get this course just right, he had to access sensor input
to see where he was, and was amazed to discover the presence of a Romulan
Bird of Prey on the other side of the Neutral Zone.
Now where did that come from? he wondered. No matter. They won't change
anything.
Once he knew where he was, he finished the navigational program and stored
it in an unlikely spot within the computer's memory banks. It was next to the
requisition order for more of what Ferengi used as toilet paper. He figured
that no one would look there for a navigational command.
"What are you doing?" Troi asked him again. She had taken few technical
courses in Starfleet Academy and was completely baffled by what Riker was
doing.
"Just a little surprise for our Ferengi friends, Deanna. Trust me."
Once he had the navigational command finished, he began another program.
This one would redirect all of the energy output on the ship to the engines,
and then it would execute the navigational program that he had just finished.
Since this was the most powerful computer on the ship, Riker had no problems
with setting an override command on the bridge controls for as long as the
navigational program was running.
As he worked, he asked Deanna to return to the Enterprise and warn them
that the shields would be lowering soon and not to fire on the Ferengi ship, no
matter what happens.
"Why, Will? What will happen?" She was clearly worried for his safety.
"Please, Deanna. I'll be just fine. Besides, I don't know what will
happen to you if I get beamed back to the Enterprise and you're mentally linked
to me. I'll be done in a minute."
"Okay. I guess you're right." She pulled away from him and sped off
toward the Enterprise.
He breathed a sigh of relief and got back to work on the second program.
He added just a little something for the Romulan Bird of Prey that was behind
them.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Are you serious, Counselor?" asked Picard with extreme mental skepticism.
"I'm afraid so, Captain. He said specifically that we weren't to do
anything to the Ferengi once they lower their shields. He should get them down
soon, so you could ask him then, sir. Frankly, most of what he did might as
well have been in Deltan for all I understood."
"Sir," called Worf, "the Ferengi are lowering their shields and seem to be
powering up their engines for something."
"Cease fire, Lieutenant," snapped Picard. He thumbed a button on his
chair, "Transporter Room, beam Commander Riker aboard, immediately." He turned
to Ensign Crusher at the Conn, "Follow them, Ensign, but don't violate the
Neutral Zone without my direct order."
After his series of quick orders, Picard turned toward the viewscreen to
see what was going on. The Avarice swung in a graceful arc around the
Enterprise and jumped back into warp going toward the Neutral Zone.
"The Romulans are requesting communications," said Worf from over Picard's
shoulder.
Picard sighed. "Very well, Lieutenant. Put them on."
The viewscreen changed to an intership communication channel showing the
Romulan bridge once again. "Why are you allowing the Ferengi scum to escape,
Picard?" demanded Commander Tomolok.
Summoning his thoughts together, Picard announced calmly, "They have
released my officer. Therefore we are letting them go about their business.
Good day." Once again Picard signaled to Worf to cut communications with the
Romulan ship.
What did Number One do this time? wondered Picard.
All of this time the Ferengi ship had been accelerating toward the Neutral
Zone and incidentally almost straight toward the Revenge. The stunned Romulans
didn't even move as the Ferengi hurled toward them at close to warp eight and
fired four photon torpedoes straight into the Romulan shields. Once clear of
the Romulan ship, the Ferengi made a hard turn to port and started traveling
along the Neutral Zone border toward a star that was just outside of Federation
space.
Once over their initial shock, the Romulans turned and started chasing the
Ferengi. The Avarice had too much of a head start, however, and was soon
approaching the star at warp eight point five. As they got closer, Picard
noticed that they weren't heading straight into the star, but rather slightly
off to one side. It was as if they wanted to slingshot around in order to gain
some speed in an old maneuver that lost most of its use when warp travel was
perfected.
The Ferengi ship soon disappeared behind the star with the Romulan
speeding along behind. Moments later, the Romulan reappeared, but the Ferengi
didn't.
"Mr. Data, where did the Ferengi ship go?"
"Unknown, sir," replied the android at Ops. "They seem to have simply
disappeared from our sensors. They did not go into the star, but rather were
going around it at close to warp ten when they simply vanished from our
sensors. It is possible, though unlikely, that they managed to cloak the ship,
but if that were the case, then the Romulans would surely know where they are,
since the cloak is a Romulan invention and could therefore penetrate the
cloaking field."
"Very well. Mr. Crusher, plot a course to Starbase 147, warp six. Mr.
Data, you have the bridge. I'll be in Sickbay looking in on Commander Riker."
Picard got up from his seat and headed to the turbolift as his officers moved
to obey his orders.
* * * * * * * * * *
"He has a broken right shoulder and his left leg is severely burned, but
he should be fine in a couple of days," reported Dr. Crusher.
"And how is Counselor Troi?" asked Picard.
"Glad you mentioned her. She, excuse me, her body," she corrected
herself, "will be recovered from the Ryboxian virus in another couple of hours.
Mentally, she has had quite a workout. She told me how you and Will had her
running errands for a while. You really shouldn't have done that to her,
Jean-Luc. Anyway, she should regain consciousness about a half hour after
Riker does."
"Good. Please contact me when Commander Riker wakes up, Doctor. I have
more than a few questions fo
r him." With that, the turned and strode out of
Sickbay.
===========================================================================
Chapter 15
Well, thought Geordi, maybe this time we can spend some more time
together. I really have gotten attached to Gloria, he admitted to himself.
"Are you ready, Geordi?" asked Data from beside the computer terminal.
"Let 'er rip, Data," he replied enthusiastically.
"Let who rip?"
"It's an expression, Data. It means go ahead," answered Geordi with a
smile.
"Ah, I understand now. Thank you." He turned back to the terminal and
tapped a last series of buttons.
The room around the two was once again filled with couples dancing,
drinking, and laughing. Geordi was still out on the dance floor with Gloria,
and Data was at the bar with Grace. She was leaning against his shoulder and
looking very content with the world.
Thanks to Dr. Crusher, Data had recently learned how to dance. He hadn't
thought about it before, but he could ask Grace to dance. It couldn't
backfire any worse than his previous attempts at spending time with her.
"Grace, would you like to dance?"
"I was hoping you would say that. Yes, I would love to, Fredrick." She
stood up in a fluid motion and held Data's hand as they made their way to a
spot near Geordi and Gloria. Geordi caught sight of them out of the corner of
his eye as they started to dance. He turned back to Gloria with a smile on his
face. Way to go, my friend, he thought to Data.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Doctor."
Doctor Crusher turned at the sound of her name. She had been going over
Deanna's medical charts when she heard her name from an unlikely source, Will
Riker. But he should be asleep for another half an hour, she thought. But he
obviously isn't, she scolded herself as she made her way to his side.
"How do you feel?" she asked.
"Not bad, considering what I know is wrong with me," he returned with a
brave, though pain filled smile. "How's Deanna?" he asked, trying to change
the topic.
"She's fine. If you wait about another hour, you can be there when she
wakes up. Meanwhile, Captain Picard has more than a few questions for you."
"I can imagine. Well, might as well get it over with."
* * * * * * * * * *
"And then I felt a transporter get a hold of me. That's the last thing
that I remember before waking up in Sickbay," concluded Riker some forty-five
minutes later.
"And what did you do to the Ferengi, again?" asked Picard.
"I remembered a theoretical experiment from my Starfleet Academy class on
warp technology. It postulated that if you slingshot around a star at the
precise angle and speed, then you could enter time warp and go forward or
backwards in time. I later learned that Admiral Kirk did that on several
occasions, so I knew it was possible. I just sent the Ferengi through time,
Captain," deadpanned Riker.
"Just sent them through time?" Picard said incredulously. "And precisely
where and more to the point when did you send them, Number One?"
"To the same star in about forty years, Captain," responded Riker,
perfectly calm.
Crusher could no longer contain herself and burst out laughing.
Picard turned to her in annoyance. "Please tell me what is so funny,
Doctor. I see nothing humorous about this entire affair."
"I'm sorry, Jean-Luc, but can you imagine what the Ferengi will think of
Will when they realize what he did to their Atax and what decade they're in?"
She had managed to contain her mirth, if only for a few moments.
Picard's mouth quirked slightly upward as he imagined what the Ferengi
would think, and said, "I think I see your point, Beverly." His eyes glittered
with barely contained laughter.
Seeing his expression sent Crusher back into laughter, this time joined by
Riker and finally Picard.
"What's so funny?" asked Deanna in a small, tired voice.
Crusher hurried over to her and checked her out as Riker once again
explained what he had done to the Ferengi. By the end of the story, Deanna too
was laughing.
"Get well, you two," said Picard to Deanna and Will on his way out of
Sickbay.
"Yes, sir," replied Riker. He turned to Troi, "You never answered my
question, Deanna."
"Which question, Will?" she asked, though she thought she knew the answer.
"What question did I ask and what was your answer?"
"Well, do you remember mentioning Wes, Beverly, and Captain Picard
performing a ceremony?" she asked.
Riker frowned and began to say that he didn't, but then his memory of
those five minutes returned with shocking clarity. He turned to Deanna and
asked, "Did I really do that?"
"Yes, I'm afraid you did, Will. But don't worry. You were asleep and I
won't hold you to any promises you may have made."
"What are you two talking about?" asked Dr. Crusher, thoroughly confused.
"Nothing," answered Riker hastily. He turned to Deanna to see her smiling
at him sweetly.
"Thank you, Imzadi," he heard in his mind.
